The Privacy of Elephants
by Terry Winder
Summary: John, Shayera and an Alternative Universe. Spoilers for A Better World.


THE PRIVACY OF ELEPHANTS by Terry Winder  
Copyright May 2006

Disclaimer: I don't own them and my life would be so different if I did.

Synopsis: John, Shayera and an Alternative Universe. Spoilers up to "A Better World."

Author's Note: I would like to state that there is no significance to the date of this posting. It is a complete astronomical coincidence coupled with a mostly effective time recording system that dictates certain "dates" fall every 365.25 revolutions of this planet. No inference should thus be made to the contrary to the chosen publication date of this story and any other coincidentally similar events with the same so-called "date."

Nope. No reason for today at all.

Oh, and by the way, if you think you've read the above paragraphs somewhere before, written by someone else, you have and that's all I'm sayin' about that.

A/N 2: This piece is offered as is without the benefit of a beta. Why? Because every 365.25 revolutions of this planet, everyone (even betas) should get a day off.

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**THE PRIVACY OF ELEPHANTS**

I don't remember exactly what I was dreaming of when she woke me up. I'm fairly certain it had something to do with her, me, borderline rough sex and falling. For some odd reason, most of my dreams have centered on those things lately.

One thing I'm pretty sure of was that she didn't wake me up on purpose. There are disadvantages to sleeping with a bird-like being with a twelve foot wingspan. One, of which, is being routinely slapped in the face, in the middle of the night, by an errant wing.

Interspecies mating is not without its problems. Most of the time it involves one or the other acknowledging their physical differences by simply saying: "Sorry." I momentarily reflected that she'd stopped apologizing for having wings about the same time I'd stopped offering remorse for not having them.

I ringed a small flashlight and directed the beam at the clock on the dresser on the other side of the room. It was 6:45 A.M. On Earth, the sun would be peeking over the horizon by now signaling the start of a new day.

But up here, at the Watchtower, it was always night ... and always dark.

I do miss living on Earth, with its concrete sidewalks, automobile traffic and people.

Yes, the people.

I look back and try to remember that we did all of this to protect them, to keep them safe so that they could go on with their lives. And each day when I look in the mirror, I remind myself that because of what we did, mankind still exists.

But, I do miss them - the people I mean. I miss being able to walk among them without fear, without my ring.

But, it's not safe there for us anymore. And it hasn't been for a while, not since Superman killed President Luthor; not since the terrorist blew up my apartment building in retaliation and killed my gentle landlady.

There's a lump in my throat because today marks the two year anniversary of Wally's death. And I sadly realized last night, before going to sleep, that the pain of his loss hasn't lessened over the years. Sometimes … sometimes, I think I may never live long enough for my broken heart to completely mend.

Suddenly, as if her internal alarm clock had just gone off, her head snapped up from her pillow and she turned to face me as I sat up. Instinctively, I smiled and just like that - the lump in my throat was gone. Seeing her face and hearing her voice always had a way of snapping me out of my moods.

"Morning, Sunshine," I said.

"Hey," she answered softly, propping herself up on her pillow.

I got out of bed and brushed the bits of feathery down off my face. There'd be no apology from her for the feathers, not even an acknowledgement of any inconvenience. We both knew feathers were the price I paid everyday for wanting her by my side.

And God help me, I _did_ want her at my side; to share my fate, to be at _her_ mercy - as well as have her at mine.

I turned to face her and stretched, trying not to yawn in front of her. I wasn't successful.

She returned my yawn; her short red hair clinging to her face, then flashed a quick smile at me.

"We have about an hour before we need to report for duty," I said. In hindsight, I think I said that more to myself than to her. She nodded in acknowledgment and got out of the bed, turned her back to me and stretched, flexing her wings as if in flight. She moved to the window and opened the curtains, revealing the planet rotating in the darkness below. She continued to keep her back to me.

I know she knew I was looking at her, studying her, as she stood silhouetted against the reflected Earth-light below, but I didn't care. It was moments like this that made me realize how lucky I was … how lucky I'd been over the last couple of years. She turned and gave me a devious look. I arched an eyebrow and returned her look with one of my own, knowing _exactly_ what she intended by her expression.

"I think we could be a little late this morning," she said as she got back into bed. "What do you think?"

"We've not been on time before," I replied, slipping back under the covers to join her. "Why should we start today?"

She said nothing as she turned on her side facing me. Then, she stared so deeply into my eyes, that at that moment, I thought I could feel her gaze touch my soul as only she could … as only she had for as long as I've known her. I smiled ever so slightly.

Suddenly, the corners of her mouth turned up into a devilish grin as she abruptly, and not so gently, raked her fingernails across my chest, raising welts.

My mouth opened in surprise and before I could protest, she quickly kissed me. And I thought to myself as I felt the passion start to rise in both of us, "What was there not to love about this woman?"

Yes, there _are_ disadvantages to sleeping with a bird, but frankly, at this moment, I couldn't think of one.

Not one.

END


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